FOUNDATION BIG IDEA GRANT

The Bellingham Public School Foundation (BPSF) partners with the community to build awareness and support to help fund the best possible education for all students in Bellingham Public Schools. Our annual grant program provides the means to connect students with the resources, experiences and opportunities to meet their full potential and enhance learning in our local classrooms. Enrichment & Innovation Grants are available to support needs up to $1,000. BIG IDEA Grants applicants can seek up to $5,000 for their project needs.

All building principals, educators and staff are encouraged to apply. Please contact 360-676-6479 or email with any questions.

Before you seek a grant from BPSF please note:

  • Grant funds should supplement, not supplant programs or materials that can be otherwise funded with school district funds.
  • All equipment and materials provided with Foundation funds are district assets, available to other teachers and classrooms when the grantee is not using it.
  • All proposals must be approved by your school principal and/or district administration if applicable. This authority should agree that your grant is a priority for funding and other financial resources are not available to meet this need.

IMPACT GRANT APPLICATION PROCESS:

STEP 1 –Complete and review the following application. This form is just a template to help you prepare your final online application. We highly recommend you formulate your answers ahead of time as you cannot save the online form and return to it later.

STEP 2 – Submit your documentation online at

STEP 3 – Funding
A grant agreement must be signed by the responsible parties before funds are released.

STEP 4 – Final reporting
All enrichment grantees are required to complete a brief final report so we can share your success with our donors, who make these grants possible.

BELLINGHAM PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOUNDATION
BIG IDEAGRANT APPLICATION

Project Title:Good titles are descriptive, concise and memorable!

Proposal Statement (max 100 words): Provide a brief summary of your project proposal discussing goals, targeted population and expected outcomes.

Problem Summary (max 250 words):What is the need for this project? Why is this important? Describe the current state of what/who the project will impact.

Targeted Population (max 50 words):Who will the project target? How many people will be impacted by this grant? Examples are 25 new teachers, 35 ELL students at a specific school, all highly capable students in the 4th grade, etc.

Project Details (max 250 words): What are the specific activities associated with your proposal and the timeline for when they will occur.

Connections to the Promise (max 50 words): How does this proposal connect to and support the Bellingham Promise, the Bellingham School District’s strategic plan? Examples are connections to Promise outcomes such as developing healthy, active individuals, multilingual readers and speakers, etc.

Outcomes and Evaluation (max 150 words): How will you measure the project’s impact? Examples could be surveys, participant testimonials, pre/post testing results, number of participants.

Foundation Publicity (max 150 words): How will your school community know that the Bellingham Public Schools Foundation and their donors supported this project? Examples include BPSF logo on purchased equipment, in emails and newsletters, website recognition. We encourage you to get creative!

Demonstrated Support and Communication: Yes or No Have you consulted with and received support from your project’s stakeholders which may include school building leadership, teachers, school staff, parents and or students.

Project Budget:Please complete the attached template. We encourage you to be detailed, including adding links to specific items that may be unfamiliar to our judges.

BPSF Grant Amount You Seek (up to $5,000):

Partial Funding / Other Sources (max 100 words): Explain what would happen if you only received only partial funding from BPSF – would you be able to scale your idea based on your grant award or could you seek funds elsewhere?

BIG IDEA GRANT BUDGET TEMPLATE
Program Name:
School:
Date:
School Contact:
Contact Email:
Budget Expenses / Amount / Expense Details
(add lines as needed) / (what this will pay for specifically)
Transportation / Travel
Teacher/Mentor Stipend
Supplies
Contractual Services
Curricula
Equipment
Other
Total Grant from BPSF / $0.00
Please list the other sources of funding supporting your project
Funder / Amount / Confirmed/Pending